Forevermore
by Devony V
Summary: "Opportunities like this only come once in a lifetime- so let's go. Big Time." ON HIATUS.
1. The Fockey Players from Wisconsin

**So this is my second time posting this, because I wanted to edit it a second time. I may even do it a third time if I don't like it. My writing has been getting pretty bland lately. AP Lit & Comp is killing me.**

**I guess I should elaborate on this story a bit. This is the story of some field-hockey players who...well, you get the gist of it. I think this'll be fun!**

**Watch out for color motifs this time around ;) and enjoy the adventures of my girls.**

This is the perfect opportunity, Carson thought. She smirked as she stared at the groaning sewage pipe that was starting to deteriorate under pressure. She swung her field hockey stick around in her hand several times like a baton before throwing it into the air and catching it expertly. She looked to her left, catching her best friend's eye and exchanging smirks.

Edie too was eying the pipe hungrily. Carson was proud to call the beautiful Latina her partner in crime. Edie was cracking her leather glove clad hands, her bare fingers flexing, rather than twisting her straightened dark hair in her finger and popping gum, much like Terri and Alexis were.

Carson glanced to the two blonde bombshells. They were staring in their signature flirty manner towards the boys soccer team. Terri was fluttering her long eyelashes. Alexis was doing the same, winking from time to time. They were almost identical, down to their blonde haired and blue eyed looks to their designer outfits and their big lip glossed smiles.

Carson rolled her eyes and looked to her right. Ari had her head turned to the side slightly, her dark curly hair blowing slightly in the Wisconsin wind. Her large brown orbs were blinking. Carson could read her like a book; she was wondering why Carson and Edie kept smirking at each other; she was wondering what the heck was going on. Ari looked smaller than she was in her slightly-too big fockey uniform, but her innocent looks were deceiving. Ari was an unpredictable beast on the field; and one of the fastest girls that Carson knew. Her blank and yellow uniform was a blur when she saw an open spot to get possession.

At the end of the line, shifting uncomfortably was Emily. Tiny and blonde, she was the only one of the group not carrying a field hockey bag besides Alexis. She'd stepped out after her disastrous tryout for the reserve team in which Carson had gone after some girl who'd laughed at her after Emily had swung and missed. Alexis simply refused because she didn't want to risk breaking a nail. Terri was afraid of the same thing, but in seventh grade, after her favorite TV show was canceled and her favorite shampoo recalled, her therapist had advised her to channel her rage into sports. Therefore, while Carson, Edie, Ari and Terri practically took over the varsity team, Emily and Alexis acted as cheerleaders. Or at least Emily did; Alexis mostly shouted criticisms. Smart as she was, Emily was probably figuring out when exactly she should run to avoid trouble. She was probably thinking about how reckless Carson was to pull a stunt like this. But Carson, as always, had a backup plan.

"Hello, ladies!"

And here they were. Carson turned to smile widely at the Gonzalez brothers; Edie's three older brothers, the idiots who were their getaway car to safety. Michael, Edie's twin, was jogging off of the soccer field, bag in hand, his large curls bouncing and blowing in the wind; Milo, a senior, the first runner from the cross country team to return, was walking toward them, running a hand through his short cropped black hair and glancing at the cheerleaders; and Al, the oldest and a returning college freshman, honked the horn to the family van. Since they all lived within walking distance of each other, he took the entire group home.

Carson smirked again. "Hey Milo!" As nerdy as his name sounded, Milo was a player. He knew he was handsome and he took advantage of that. Carson jerked her head over to the cheerleading team. "Marcia Phillips was talking about asking you out." Milo's brown eyes lit up excitedly and he whipped his head over to the team. As if planned, Marcia was looking straight at him and winked. He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I think I'll save her the trouble!" He dropped his bag at Carson's feet and ran toward the cheerleaders.

Michael looked at Carson, one eyebrow raised. "She hasn't said a word, has she?"

"No, but it's working perfectly. Look!" Edie pointed. Milo was leaning up against the bleachers while talking to Marcia. Alexis scowled. "What's the plan, Car?"

Carson stuck her chin out. "We're going to show them what happens when you mess with my buds."

"Tell us how we can help," Al said, smirking. Michael shook his head. "Seriously, how did you get to be the oldest? This is a bad idea."

"You're no fun, little brother." Carson jerked her head to the team. "Just stand there. A little pressure will help that pipe blow." The two nodded and walked toward the cheerleaders, Michael more reluctant than Al.

"And now…?" Carson whipped out her stick and slammed it onto the pipe before turning and fleeing. They threw themselves behind the van as the pipe exploded violently, spewing garbage over the entire football field- and over the cheerleaders.

The group burst into laughter at the sound of shrieks filled the air. They stopped laughing after breathing in the smell. "Ugh, let's ditch." Edie climbed into the van and Carson climbed into the front seat.

"WHO DID THIS?" the head cheerleader screamed. She looked wildly around until her eyes fell on Milo. "YOU! YOU CAUSED THIS!"

"No! I didn't I swear! It was-" he looked around to his brothers for help. Carson laughed from inside the car.

"GET THEM!" Edie toppled over laughing as her brothers ran by as fast as they could. She and Carson high-fived as the boys ran by, shaking their fists at the car.

"What exactly was the point of letting them take the fall for us?" Emily said quietly. Alexis turned to look at her.

"Killing two birds with one stone. Getting back at the cheerleaders for kicking me off of the team because I wanted to do drama club-"

"-And getting back at the guys for planting stink bombs into our tent during our last camping trip." Terri sniffed.

"We never should have even gone camping. It's _gross."_

_"First _of all-" Carson raised her voice as she turned the car on, desperate to get away from the stench. "It wasn't camping. We were in Edie's backyard. Secondly, if anything, we were stupid to not go to somebody else's backyard. We should've known they were going to do something."

"Thirdly," Edie continued. "If it's such an issue for you, why did you come?" Alexis rolled her eyes and continued filing her nails. "Whatever. Let's go." Carson chuckled and put the car in drive. She was about to pull out when a sharp rapping on the window stopped her. She turned and felt her stomach drop.

"I should have known it was you, Carson. Your stench was all over the field."

Edie glared at the man. "I thought that was you-" Carson smacked her and shot the principal a fake smile. "Oh, hiya, Mr. DeMaura. What's shakin'?"

The man didn't crack a smile. "My office. _All_ of you."

**Til next time, friends!**


	2. Last Strike

**Aaaaaand here's chapter 2!**

"I cannot _believe_ he expelled you!" Edie screeched, leaping out of the van. She aimed a roundhouse kick at the garbage can, sending it flying down the street. She looked at the house in a brief panic, but then noticed the empty driveway. "Okay, Evil Stepmother is AWOL, so we're safe!"

The group moved ahead to Edie's house, Carson moving more slowly. She couldn't get over the unfairness of the incident. She'd gotten expelled, while Edie had gotten suspended for the first few weeks of school. The other four were let off as "innocent bystanders" after Alexis threatened to sue. Sure, they had defended her; school hadn't even started yet. It was mid-August and she'd already been expelled.

She knew the real reason why she'd gotten kicked out. The principal hated having her in his "perfect" school. She was just scum of the Earth; that's all she ever was to the faculty of their school district.

"It's too bad your dad isn't in town. He'd have torn that stuffed-up jerk apart." Terri said vindictively as she followed Alexis into Edie's front door.

Carson snorted. "Yeah right." Her dad was a traveling real-estate agent. Carson loved him, but he didn't exactly have a backbone.

Edie turned to see her friend trudging along, shuffling her feet. Edie grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her. "Look. This won't change anything. We'll figure something out."

Carson shrugged, too tired to argue. She'd screwed up big time and she knew it. Now what was she supposed to do?

"Let's just go," she muttered. Edie offered her a half smile and threw an arm around her shoulders and they walked into the house.

The normally brightly decorated living room was nearly empty, save for the coffee table, the TV and TV stand, and the couch that the family was leaving behind, which the girls had now taken over. Edie settled on the couch next to her friends in silence. Alexis flipped on MTV and began watching some boy band, but Edie grabbed the remote and shut it off. "Are we really going to spend my last days around here watching TV?"

Alexis was about to respond when the door flew open. The girls jumped and cowered in fear at the sight of Edie's stepmother, Lucille and her half-siblings, Rosie and Braden. The scowling matriarch fixed her eyes on her stepdaughter and she pointed toward the kitchen. Edie flipped her hair in a sassy fashion and strutted out of the room. Lucille didn't give her stepdaughter's friends a second glance as she followed her.

Edie leaped up onto the kitchen counter and cracked open a can of pop that she'd retrieved from the refrigerator. Lucille glared, silently demanding that she removed herself from the island. Edie rolled her eyes but obeyed- she didn't have the energy to fight with her today.

"I talked to your principal today," Lucille scowled. "You really got suspended before school even started?"

"We just played a prank on the cheerleaders!" Edie shot back.

"_And_ your brothers?" Edie opened her mouth. "They're in the backyard, washing the scum off. They smell. Not to mention, you've destroyed the football field."

Edie felt a twinge of regret for sliming her brothers up. "Well, listen. I've learned my lesson. I'm not going to be caught up at all-"

"Oh no," Lucille said with a slight smile playing around her lipsticked lips. "No, you won't have to worry about that at all. Know why?"

Edie opened her mouth, and squeaked out the best. "You got me a tutor?" she suggested hopefully.

Lucille rolled her eyes. "You'll be attending the Dallas Golf Academy and Marine Training in Dallas when we move there after the semester's over."

Edie's jaw dropped. "You're sending me to _military school_?" she shrieked.

"This was your last strike, Edith." Edie flinched when she heard her real name exit the woman's mouth. She felt a surge of new hatred for the woman as she left the room. Edie scowled at her and stomped toward the living room. Nearly everything was gone, packed away to be thrown into a moving van that would take her to a new life. Edie felt sick at the thought of returning to stupid Texas.

Edie stopped at the sight of her friends sitting in a semi-circle around the TV. It was just like middle school, and kindergarten years before that. Carson was slouched on the smaller couch. Ari was playing video games on her DS. Emily was sitting quietly below her, playing with her hair and fingernails. Alexis and Terri were sitting on the couch facing the TV, gossiping happily. How could she give this up?

Carson may have it the worst, she thought sadly. The two had known each other long before the group had come together. Her best friend's eyes met hers. "What's up?"

"Don't wanna talk about it," she muttered. She sat down on the floor, mourning the absence of her fuzzy rug that was packed up. Alexis and Terri were still whispering, occasionally shrieking "I know! This is so exciting!" interjecting brief silences that were dedicated to staring at Alexis' iPhone.

This went on for several more minutes before Carson sat up. "Okay, you wore me down. What's the deal?"

Terri almost jumped out of her seat. "Oh I can't stand it! Tell them!"

Alexis beamed. "My parents got me an audition!"

Edie glanced up at the news. "With?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Alexis had been singing for as long as they'd known her. Musicals, private voice coaching, show choir- she'd done it all.

Alexis faltered "I-I don't actually know yet- my parents just said that they got me some 90's big-shot producer to come out here. Dad knows a guy." Edie groaned when she and Terri stood up; they were going to do "That Thing" again. "Terri and I are going to be stars. Our names will be in lights," she whispered dramatically, her blue eyes widening. Edie could see the stars. "Alexis Turner and Terri Brukowsky- two nobodies from a small town in Wisconsin to the two teen pop idols of Hollywood. We'll have everything- fame, fortune, and of course-"

"_Boys_." They both giggled in unison.

Ari piped up. "I didn't know Terri can sing."

"Of course I do. And once I become famous through our band, I'll start my acting career, marry a super hot male star, buy a yacht, start a cosmetic business in our names-"

"You've got it all planned out, huh?" Carson muttered. Edie nudged her comfortingly. The girl's heads snapped to the coffee table, where Alexis' iPhone began buzzing and playing the song from some new band. "My phone!" she shrieked.

"Answer it!" Terri yelled at her. Alexis grabbed it and answered. "Daddy?...Yeah? He's here already? Yeah I know he's not a patient man-okay-okay-okay, I'm at Edie's, come get me!"

Alexis threw her phone down, grabbed Terri's arms and screamed "WE'RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!"

"Doesn't this guy have to like you for that to happen?" Edie pointed out. Alexis chuckled. "Oh Edie. You really don't understand Hollywood."

"Besides. We WILL be accepted." They looked back at each other and began screaming and jumping up and down.

Edie's eyebrows came together. Carson remained silent, burrowing herself into the couch. Terri stopped jumping long enough to look around at her friends. "Won't you guys come?"

"Yeah!" Alexis agreed. "You'll be the last people to see us as regulars."

Emily smiled. "Of course we will." She stood and picked up her side bag. "Ladies?"

Carson sighed before standing up. "Let's kick it, E."


	3. Gustavo Rocque

**LOL no one's reading this. #foreveralone. If anyone cares, the character models are on my page.**

**By the way, this story is based off of BTR's rise to fame as a band. I disclaim the similarities. This story will be different because females are stereotypically depicted as smarter and more clever by the media/TV shows/movies. IT'S FUNNY. :p**

***I do not own anybody/thing that you may recognize from BTR. Disclaimer continues at the bottom. **

Carson kept her hand pressed over her ears as Alexis continued to shriek at her parents to hurry up. It wasn't like this guy was going anywhere. They'd scheduled a meeting with him.

The car screeched to a stop outside of the community entertainment house, where the show choir often rehearsed. Alexis nearly hurled herself out of the car with an iron-clad grip on Terri's wrist, her mother frantically following.

"Let's GO!"

Carson climbed out of the car and followed her two friends. They walked into the studio and stopped. The place was covered in trash and chairs were thrown all over. Carson got the feeling that there were many people here before.

"What do you MEAN, there's no meeting?"

Alexis was screeching at her parents; who were trying- albeit unsuccessfully- to reason with her.

"Honey, Gustavo Rocque has been traveling the country looking for the next big thing," Tess reasoned.

"Gustavo Rocque? As in BoyQuake, BoyCity, and Boyz in the Attic, I-Can't-Write-Songs-Without-The-Word-Girl-In-Them Gustavo Rocque? That guy's a joke!" Edie snorted. Terri whirled on her. "How do you know all of his songs, then?" she challenged, a neatly plucked blonde eyebrow raising. Alexis mimicked her movements, putting her hands on her hips.

Edie shrugged. "You know Milo and his famous delusion? He went through a pop boy band phase. I had to listen to it: _constantly_." She closed her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose, sighing.

A crash was heard behind the closed door of the auditorium. "YOU SIR, REMIND ME A LOT OF MATTHEW MCCHONHAY! AND YOU SMELL BAD! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! NEXT!"

"Sounds like a harsh critic, guys. You sure you want to do this?" Carson asked her friends.

The doors flew open. The girls turned and gaped at the sight of Milo being restrained by security guards. He struggled, yelling over his shoulder, "When I get discovered and I'm more famous than your stupid band, you're gonna regret this, you over-puffed cheeseball!" he turned and saw his sister and her friends and grinned cheerily. "Oh...hey girls!"

"Hi Milo," they all chorused dully.

"How did you get here? And without showering?" Edie crinkled her nose; he still smelled like garbage.

"I figured riding my bike would cancel the smell out!" Milo said in irritation. His voice lowered and his thick dark eyebrows raised. "_He's evil_. And clearly tasteless." he turned his head around. "See you at home!" he called over his shoulder as the guards threw him out the front door.

A young woman dressed in a snazzy outfit exited the room, groaning as she searched through the papers she was holding. "No one left?" she whispered in horror. She then glanced up, almost collapsing with relief. "Oh, thank you! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!" she began ripping numbers off of a notepad and slamming them on everyone's chest and passing out paperwork with alarming speed.

"Wait- we're not all auditioning!" Emily sputtered.

"Well, I'm a desperate talent scout, I haven't slept for the past two weeks, we've been scouring the country looking for somebody our producer is happy with, you're all pretty and have charming faces and Miley Cyrus made one hundred and fifty million _just_ from concerts last year." she managed to say in one breath and staying conscious.

There was a dead silence before Ari raised her hand. "I'll go first!"

"Ari!" Alexis hissed. Ari rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. He'll throw me out like everyone else and when he sees you, he'll be blown away."

Ari skipped into the audition room after the woman while everyone else took seats. Soon enough, they heard a shrieking sound through the closed doors.

* * *

><p><em>"'Cause girl, I'd catch a grenade for ya-"<em>

"STOP." Ari obeyed and looked at the man. Gustavo Rocque was a portly man with a scary-looking goatee, swag clothes and bug-eye sunglasses, with a permanent scowl etched upon his face topping off the look.

"What Gods of Anti-Rock sent you a delusion to audition for me? I am looking for people WHO CAN SING!" he roared at Ari. She shrugged. "Well, my best friend is trying out and I think you should take her."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"It was just a suggestion!"

"Don't suggest things!"

"Well, how did I sound?"

"Like a cat being brutally slaughtered!"

"Is that good?"

"NO!"

"When can I start?"

"I DIDN'T HIRE YOU!"

"Why not?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE AWFUL!"

"Do you think pigeons have feelings?"

* * *

><p>Edie stepped onto the stage. So, this guy was a jerk? This would be fun.<p>

"She's not hideous," Gustavo muttered. Edie snorted and took a deep breath. The assistant who had begged them to audition leaned forward in her chair, clearly hoping for this to be the end of her search. Edie looked them in the eye, waiting for them to get on edge, then began beatboxing, getting into her groove. She was pretty good; but Gustavo didn't agree.

"Wiki-wiki STOP! Stop it. Forever." he snapped as the assistant fell back in disappointment.

Edie cocked an eyebrow. Seriously? She planted her hands on her hips. "I'm not done yet."

"Oh yes you are. But before you leave, let me tell you WHAT ELSE YOU ARE!"

* * *

><p>Carson was pacing the waiting room when several yellow-coated security yards rushed in. They exited the room, carrying a struggling and cursing Edie.<p>

"She's with us," Carson said weakly. They dropped her at her feet and left again.

* * *

><p>Emily was next to enter the audition room. She was trembling.<p>

Emily hated to admit it to herself, but she was probably the best singer out of her friends. She was blessed with a natural talent that couldn't be taught. She yanked the fabric of her scarf and concentrated on the beat of her shoes clacking across the state.

_What if he picked her over Alexis_? She wouldn't be able live with the guilt. This was Alexis' dream, not hers. Emily was all set to go to Julliard in two years- being famous wasn't in her plans.

She turned to the microphone. Gustavo was fishing pieces of foam out of his mouth- Edie had apparently responded to his critique on her beatboxing.

_Just sing a few lines. Don't let him see you cry when he throws you out._

She opened her mouth, freezing up when Gustavo stared her down. She felt her insides freeze up with the intensity of the glare he was giving her.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell backward.

"NEXT!" 

* * *

><p>"You're up," Carson told Alexis. She and Terri leapt up, excitement exploding in their features. They both ran into the auditorium, the rest of the girls and her parents following. Terri's parents walked to the front of the room, nearer to the two talent scouts and sat behind them. The goateed man turned to them, stared, then shook his head, apparently disgusted, and turned back to the stage.<p>

Carson raised an eyebrow, glancing toward Edie. Her friend nodded. "He's a jerk," she said quietly. Ari nodded vigorously while Emily shifted the ice pack on her head. The group all stretched their heads above the seat when they saw Alexis and Terri strut onstage, looking fabulous and confident as always.

"Just what I need," the man said when they stepped onstage. "Barbie duo." Alexis completely ignored the diss while Terri just glared. They set up the microphones and took deep breaths. Alexis counted off and they began harmonizing: "_Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na naa, naa-_"

"NEXT!"

The both stopped immediately. "Excuse me?" Alexis snapped. "We weren't done yet."

"We hadn't even started!" Terri protested.

"You heard me, Princess. WHO'S NEXT?" he yelled in the direction of his assistant. She flinched and handed him her clipboard. "There's no one else," she squeaked.

"You hear that? There's no one else!" Alexis shot at the big man.

"So why won't you just give us a chance?" Terri complained.

"Because you two are ANNOYING. NEXT!"

Edie stood up with her field hockey stick, ready to stick it where the sun don't shine into the huge man, but Carson grabbed her shoulder and hissed at her to wait. Alexis' parents just scowled at the man, but a glare from their daughter told them to wait it out.

"But we _are_ the best singers you've had all day, correct?" Alexis snapped. "You're out of time. You need someone. And you have two ready-made stars right here!"

"NO. What I need is a small-town piece of wood that will listen to me, do what I tell him or her too, so I can make a CD and SET HIM OR HER _ON FIRE_!"

"Wouldn't that hurt?" Ari piped up. The man whipped around and glared at her again. Emily wimpered and sunk to the floor under the intensity of his glare.

"YOU- SILENT! AS FOR YOU TWO-" he turned back to the shocked girls- "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT. I HAVE NEVER SEEN MORE CONCEITED SMALL-TOWN LOSERS IN MY LIFE, AND I WORK WITH-"

Finally, Carson has had enough. "HEY!" Ignoring her friend's protests, she stood up and marched down the aisle way toward him.

"WHAT?" Gustavo Rocque bellowed and turned toward her. Carson didn't flinch.

"You are making a huge mistake by turning them down. You need a new superstar and you're turning down a packaged deal!" she shouted, throwing her arms out at her friends.

"Oh-ho! A member of the wolfpack barks!" he laughed mockingly as he sat back in his seat. "Well listen here, sister. I need the FIRE, not a couple of Britney wanna-be's and some trashy, talentless-"

"Oh, you want to see _fire_?" Carson shot back, cutting him off, rage boiling over. She sucked in a breath of air and began swinging her hips a little while belting out that song she always sang in the shower. _"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-ah, my best friend's brother is the one for me."_ She backed up and leapt onto the table, causing the two to fall backward in surprise. She threw her head back and began singing and throwing her arms around. "_Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-ah, punk rock drummer and he's six-foot-three. B-F-B-_" she kicked the plate of a half eaten burrito away-"HEY!" he shouted-"_B-F-B-_" she kicked the bucket of popcorn in the other direction- "HEY!". She began crushing the foam cups beneath her sneakers while stomping and clapping to the beat. "_My best friend's brother, my best friend's brother-_HEY !" she was suddenly grabbed out and dragged from the room.

**Clearly, I do not own the following:**

**"Best Friend's Brother" by Victoria Justice**

**"This Year" by the A*Teens (The "Na na na" vocalizing was the beginning of the song)**

**"Grenade" by Bruno Mars**

**Seriously though, I'm seeing hits and no reviews. That's pretty offensive to an author. Tell me if this is good or not, okay?**


	4. The Deal

**Hey, so I got some reviews the other day! Much appreciated! :)**

**ElleBlack14 - I'll be honest, I was planning on having this be a gender-swap thing with the girls, except with more drama, and not have the guys in at all. Camille and Jo would have existed, as well as Bitters, Jett (even though I detest him, he's fun to torture), the Jennifers, Tyler, Buddah Bob, everyone else from the Palm Woods. I wanted to leave it up to the readers to decide after a few chapters, but I realized 2 things. 1) Nobody appeared to have any input other than using this for pleasure reading and the occasional chuckle, based on the number of Alert/Subscription Notices that I recieved, and 2) Who am I to ruin the sanctity of Big Time Rush by not having Big Time Rush? It simply wouldn't be the same. And to be realistic, nobody would have voted against the boys appearing in the story. Thus, the boys will play a major role in the girls rise to fame. They won't appear for a few chapters, but watch out for the references here and there ;) **

Carson clicked her tongue casually as she sat in the stiff-armed chair of the police department. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mr. Gonzalez arguing with the officer in charge- he was unfortunately a higher officer than he was. He was shaking his head in frustration. She dared to glance at Edie, who shrugged in response. She was the only one of the group to follow Carson into the fight; Ari had also attempted to free her, but she was released under the idea of her being "confused."

She couldn't believe what a jerk that guy was. Who was he to tell her friends that they were untalented?

"Not to mention he called you trash," Edie muttered. Carson shot a look at her. "Did you just read my mind?"

"No. You talk out loud when you think angry thoughts."

Carson shrugged and continued to watch Edie's father. Mr. Gonzalez was rubbing his temple when the phone rang. An officer answered it and spoke, nodding and affirming something. He hung up and said something to Mr. Gonzalez, who blinked in surprise but then nodded and left. He stepped out of the room and nodded to the two girls. "Let's go home," he said.

The two stood up and followed him silently. Carson knew that Edie wanted to flip the bird at the officers; she shook her head warningly. Edie rolled her eyes in response, tugging at her sleeves.

Words remained unspoken on the car ride home. Mr. Gonzalez would simply throw disappointed glances at the girls behind him; Carson sunk lower in her seat with every glance.

Mr. Gonzalez glanced at Carson in the rearview mirror. "You know I'm going to have to call your dad."

Carson shrugged. Her 'father' wouldn't do anything. He was gone; again.

They pulled into the driveway of Edie's house, where Alexis' parent's car was sitting in the driveway. Carson climbed out of the police cruiser and turned in the direction of her house. As she did so, a severe-looking limo pulled in front of the Edie's house. She felt her anger flare up again when its occupants stepped out of the car.

Edie stepped forward until she was almost face-to-face with Gustavo. "Didn't I leave my mark at the audition? Why are you back here?"

"Step off, Chihuahua. You should be grateful that I called the police station to let you two dogs off," he snapped as the rest of their group spilled out from Edie's house.

Alexis shrieked and ran to him. "I knew it. I _knew_it! You thought it over and realized that you want-"

"Her." he said, pointing behind her- right at Carson.

"Her?"

"_Her_?"

"Her? Oh wait, I don't care." Braden said as he went back inside.

"Me?" Carson said weakly, glancing at Alexis, who looked like she was going to have a conniption.

"Listen- Kelly, what's her name?" he asked his assistant. She fiddled through the leaflets before pulling out Carson's form. "Carson Raize," she said.

"-Carson- you have...a gift. And you apparently weren't aware of it when you were terrorizing my desk. And my food." he cleared his throat and continued. "I want to take you and your family to LA to discuss some business and produce some demo tracks."

Alexis began sputtering uncontrollably and Terri grabbed her shoulder to calm her down. Alexis' parents stared at Carson in shock. Michael pushed up on Milo's open jaw. Edie watched Carson's expression, trying to predict her answer.

Carson stared at the man, feeling a mixture of shock and anger build up inside of her. Who was this guy- insulting her friends and then coming up to _her_ and asking _her_, not Alexis, to be the "_next big thing_?"

Carson took one look over her shoulder at her friends, feeling the different emotions. Her decision was made when she saw Alexis's face. "No."

Gustavo froze. Kelly groaned and slapped a hand to her forehead.

"N-no?" Terri whispered. "You're turning this down?"

"I said no, and 'No' mean no." Carson never left his gaze. "Your audition was biased and rude and I'd rather suffer a boring life here than work for a jerk like you."

"Carson-" Emily's voice dropped. "You're _amazing_. How could you say no to this?"

Carson sighed. "Em, you sounded amazing too. And I'm not going anywhere where you guys aren't." Kelly's shoulders slumped and her head dropped. Gustavo's shocked expression never changed. His arms were still held out, but his face held nothing but blatant shock.

"Look, Carson- have you even sang before?" The woman asked, appearing desperate to get Carson to accept.

Carson thought back to her childhood- it was a big blur of sitting in detention with Edie and beating up people with her field hockey stick. Edie was chuckling, as though remembering these memories with pleasure. She shook her head.

"Well, you sounded great. Do you want me to play your audition tape for you?" she asked, pulling out a Blackberry.

"No thanks."

"Play it," Gustavo said shortly. Kelly pressed the button, and Carson was seen dancing around and singing. A strong, clear voice shot out of the Blackberry; "-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-ah-"

"See?" Kelly shut her phone off. Carson stared at her frowning. Gustavo grinned and pointed his fingers at her, wiggling his eyebrows. She scowled at him. "We've been traveling the country for weeks and we haven't been able to find anyone. If you accept, you'll get a CD made, and if the record producers like your demo, you'll have a real CD made, maybe a tour- and you'll make money! You could make a whole new life, get a whole new look-"

"What, now you're insulting the way I look?" Carson snapped at her. Kelly shrunk back. "N-no-"

"Well I'm offended. I am not moving to the Plastic Capital of the United States so that you can mold me into a '_singing block of wood to set on fire_,'" she sneered, aiming that at Gustavo. "I refuse. No means no. That's final."

"There's no way we can change your mind?" Kelly asked wearily while her boss still stood, frozen with shock.

Carson shook her head, her brown locks sliding over her shoulder. "Nope. You can drag me to Hollywood, give me tons of money, but it'll never be worth it. It'll never be home, especially if my friends aren't with me." A sniffling behind her told her that Emily had gotten emotional again. She turned and smiled at her friends, taking in their expressions. Edie was smiling a real- not sarcastic!- smile, as was Ari, while she wrapped an arm around Emily, whose brown eyes were glistening. Terri was smiling gratefully as well. The only unhappy person she could see was Alexis, who was clearly enraged about losing her shot. Carson knew where this would go. She'd never be forgiven, and they'd be back to being friends in a week.

But what if this could change so much

She thought about her lonely house that Edie often inhabited while her father was away on his business trips. She'd lose that when they left, yes- but what if he started taking her _with_ him when he went away? Between Edie moving and being detained in boarding school, Alexis possibly bullying her parents into moving back to New York and taking Terri with her to become Broadway stars, Emily going to Julliard when they graduated-Carson would either be left with Ari or traveling the globe with her father. _Wouldn't that be a hoot._

_We'll fall apart._

Carson bit her lip and looked at Gustavo and Kelly, suddenly realizing that Kelly was guiding a paralyzed Gustavo back to the limo. "Wait!" she called out. They turned, shocked. "I've changed my mind. I'll go with you, IF-" she paused dramatically and they all leaned in, waiting for an answer. "-you take my friends and make us all a singing group." She smirked and crossed her arms.

Gustavo stared at her for a moment. Carson figured that he was considering her answer and stuck her chin out defiantly, waiting. He suddenly began laughing maniacally. "Y-you- them-" he continued laughing like a nutjob before abruptly cutting himself off with a stern "No."

Carson raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to go on. "I have _not_ been touring the country for the past three weeks, losing sleep over my boss yelling at me every day, _and_ the fact that I'm leaving my other band, helpless, while they're in the middle of a tour just to have some small-town brat try to make a deal with me! I've already wasted enough money on training a group of dogs and I refuse to do it once again-"

"Why would you try to train dogs?" Ari asked innocently. Gustavo glared at her while Kelly snickered. "SHUT UP."

He turned back to Carson, who was still standing defiantly. "Hey, it's just like Alexis said- you need a group and you can't go back to L.A. without one, so…you can either go back with your other…_dogs_, or take us back. _We'll_ be your next big thing. _All_ of us."

"Have you HEARD your friends sing? Oh wait, THEY CAN'T." he snapped. Kelly shook her head quickly, as though ridding herself of a strange sense of déjà vu. "I'm Gustavo Rocque! I'M AMAZING. And there is, no way, absolutely NO WAY that I am taking a group of small-town losers to Los Angeles to become a singing group! It's never gonna happen! NEVER!" he roared in her face.

Carson distinctly heard Kelly mutter "Remember last time you tried to say that…" and smiled.

"So…we have a deal?"

Gustavo sighed. "Yep."

Piercing screams erupted from the group of girls as they threw themselves at the man, thanking him and hugging him. He sputtered indignantly as Kelly waved them off, smiling.

**Now that you've completed this chapter, I can tell you some secrets that I've been withholding. I'm purposely holding details about the girls lives (Who Carson's father is, why Edie hates her stepmother, and where her real mother is, etc) for shock factor and stuff for when they rise to fame. Everybody loves a good, scandelous story about a teen idol ;)**

**The next chapter is a little angsty, and the one after, they should be arriving in LA.**


	5. Hollywood Material

"Can you believe this?" Terri squealed for the eighth time as she, like Alexis, bounced up and down in excitement on Carson's window seat. Carson smiled and shook her head, grabbing another stack of jeans and tossing them into her suitcase. Emily was sitting in the lounge chair that Carson never used, and Ari was sprawled across the bed, squeezed between the wall and Carson's suitcase. Edie was still at her house, arguing with Lucille and her father, trying to convince them that this was better for everyone. Carson could almost hear the yelling from the house.

She glanced at Alexis, who was still filling out scraps of paper. "Dude, why are you trashing all of my computer paper?"

"I need to practice my signature for when I become famous. Do you think I should change my last name? Alexis Turner sounds pretty lame. I need something with a little flair, ya know?"

"Do what you want." Carson said, pulling herself onto her bed. "But I need to propose something, guys." They all turned to her. "I'll repeat this when Edie comes back, because she needs to hear this too. When we get to Hollywood, we cannot change for anyone." She looked at her friends seriously. She could see herself in Ari's large brown orbs. "We need to remember where we came from. We're always going to be small-town fockey players who hit it big time. But first and foremost…we're friends."

Silence penetrated the room until it was broken by sniffling. They all turned to Emily, who was holding her head in her hands. "That was beautiful!" she squeaked. They all laughed. Ari scooted over to hug her Emily and Terri and Alexis resumed their bouncing, whispering excitedly. Carson smiled and walked back into her closet, returning with several more t-shirts and flannels.

Terri ceased her bouncing to wrinkle her nose. "Ick, Carson- I don't mean to disregard your speech, but a change does need to be made. When we get to L.A., we are so going shopping."

Carson frowned and turned around. "For what? I have plenty of clothes right here."

"Yeah- Ed Hardy brand." Alexis took her eyes off of her nails and looked Carson dead in the eye. "Flannels are for poor people. We're going to be the new stars of tomorrow, and we cannot be seen with a performer looking like a homeless person."

Carson glared at her. "It's what I feel most comfortable in."

"You'll learn to be more comfortable dressed like me and Terri," Alexis retaliated, waving a hand at their outfits. "When we get famous, we'll be rich. And we need to be seen as fashionable and-"

"Hey Alexis, do you ever get tired of being condescending?" Edie's voice shot through the room.

They all turned to her. "How long have you been standing there?" Carson asked.

"I heard the end of your speech. Nicely done." She said as she walked over and sat on the floor under the window. "And I think we all agree that we can't let this change us. We know what Hollywood does to people." She rolled her eyes at Alexis, who was still practicing her signature.

Ari's Samsung buzzed. She glanced at it, reading the text, then stood up and stretched. "Mom said the adults are done talking. Carson, they wanted to put your dad on conference, but they couldn't get a hold of him."

Carson shrugged. "So? Nobody's going to be living here anymore; therefore, the house does not need cleaning. I'm doing this whether he likes it or not."

Ari shrugged. "You'd better talk to Edie's dad. Come on, Em, your mom wants you too."

Emily sighed and stood up, sending a wave to her friends and she followed Ari out of the room. Terri and Alexis left soon afterward, announcing that they needed their beauty sleep and that they didn't need to pack- apparently they'd been expecting to leave all along. When she and Edie were alone in the room, Carson flipped out her phone and began dialing her father's number.

"This is so he knows. Your dad can't say anything now." She said, pressing Send and holding it up to her ear. It went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, dad. So I just got discovered by a talent agent and I'm going to L.A. with my friends. Don't worry, Alexis' parents are chaperoning and I'll call you when I get there. I'll even leave weekly voicemails so you have updates. 'Kay? Bye."

She hung up and turned to Edie, who was staring at her. "If it didn't piss me off so much that your dad can't even answer his phone for his only kid, I'd almost say that that's pretty harsh."

"Yeah, well, that's the life of a neglected kid." Carson responded coolly. She finished packing by shoving a pair of Converse into the side pocket of her suitcase. She set her packed bag and her guitar by the door so that it would be ready when they left.

Edie's phone buzzed and she checked the text. She scowled and stood up. "I gotta get home. We'll get you tomorrow morning."

Carson shrugged. She'd caught sight of herself in the mirror and had begun picking at the flannel jacket she had on. "Yeah, I guess. I'll see you tomorrow."

Edie walked up behind her friend and gave her a half smile. She nudged her shoulder, made a funny face in them mirror and left once Carson cracked a smile.

As soon as her door shut, Carson's smile dropped. She ran her chewed-on fingernails through her thick brown hair. Her unmade eyelids blinked over her brown eyes and she wrapped her arms around her thin frame.

_Am I really Hollywood material? _Carson knew that the only think adults ever complimented her on was her smile. It made such a difference in her face, they'd say. She tried one- the falseness seeped through and it dropped.

She thought of her friends, the girls she'd known since kindergarten. They were all beautiful; Edie hid it behind her sarcastic glares. She'd roll her pretty dark eyes and hide her sleek dark hair under a baseball cap. Carson had seen them both at their double Quincenera last year- she'd looked so beautiful, but she'd hated every second of it. They'd both been dolled up in pink dresses and their hair was curled and fell against their backs. While Carson saw a pastry when she looked in the mirror, Edie had looked like a Princess. If only she'd appreciated it like Carson would have.

Terri and Alexis were both beautiful, naturally, and they flaunted it. They knew that they attracted men and they loved to tease. Emily was also beautiful, but she was shy. She wore the makeup that her mother allowed, never curled her dirt blonde hair, and dressed in plain, preppy clothes. Ari, of course, was simply adorable- wide, pretty brown eyes, gorgeous curly Italian hair and the prettiest ivory skin that Carson had ever seen,

She'd give anything to be beautiful. She was sixteen years old and she was still scrawny, with boring, straight brown hair, bangs cut straight across her slightly larger than average forehead, doe brown eyes, and a wide mouth.

She tried the smile again.

Still nothing.


End file.
